barrath



E. BARRATH.

EBT M TAL (No Model.) 3 Sheets-She-et 3.

E.BARRATH. SHEET METAL CAN.

NO. 507,960 Patented Oct'. 31, 1893.

UNITED STATES EDWARD BARRATH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE VICTOR KEY- PATENT O FICE.

OPENING CAN AND MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SH EET-M ETAL CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,960, dated Octob'erl, 1893.

Application filed December 30. 1892. Scrial No. 456,834:- (No model.)

To all whom it ma /y concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BARRATH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Metal Cans, (Case No. 1,) of which the following is a full,'clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to key opening cans or sheet metal vessels, and its Object is to form a can which may be opcned by means of a key in the way well known, but Which avoids the expense in making and in waste of material Which has resulted from the method Of making such cans heretofore in use.

My invention consists briefly in making a proj ection upon one of the parts of which the can is made, which projection is made from the portion of the material which has heretofQre been waste, and in utilizing this projection to reinforce or back the portion of the Other part of the can which is raised to form the lip which is inserted in the key to enable a strip to be torn Off and the can to be opened.

'My invention consists further in making said detachable lip from the material from which a part of the can itself is necessarily formed by an incision therein, as distinguished from 'the method of forming the lip which consists in cutting away, or in otherwise disposing of a portion of said material, Which latter method results in considerable waste. l

In making cans of the kind to which my invention applies, it is essential that some portion of the can body or cover be adapted to be torn away or removed from the Other part of the can. This may be accomplished by weakening the material of which the can is made along a line orlines marking O such detachable portion. It is further essential to provide alip attached to such detachable portion in Such a manner that it may be seized by a key which thus causes the detachable portion to be torn away from the other part of. the can, which is thus opened. Various methods of providing these essential features have been employed in the manufacture of key opening cans, but in all cans of this kind heretofore made eXpense has been occasioned in providing the detaching lip, either by a waste of material when part of the metal from which the can body is made is rendered useless by cut'ting it away to provide the lip, Or by the eXpense of labor and materialwhen a piece Of metal forming the detaching lip is attached to the portion which is to be torn off in opening the can.

My invention avoids the expense of methods heretofore employed and enables me to make key opening cans practically at no greater cost than that of common cans.

A better understanding of my invention will be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a portion of sheet metal from which the covers are punched,with a representation of the manner in Which the covers are stamped out of this metal. Fig. 2 represents a section of a portion of a can partially made, with the cover in place. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the can at right angles to that shown in Fig. 2. Fig. l shows the rollers by which the cover and the projection on the top of the can are given a Sharp angle or crease, and a slight Offset is at the same time formed in the can. Fig. 5 is a sectional view like that shown in Fig. 3, but after the rollers shown in Fig. 4: have done their work. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the completedcan, with the treinforcing portion on the cover shown in dotted lines, and the loose detaching lip also shown. Fig. 7 shows another shape of forming rollers. Fig. 8 represents a can as made by rollers of the kind shown in Fig. 7.' Fig. 9 represents a portion 'of the sheet metal from which the body of the can is formed. Fig. 10 represents a portion of the sheet metal from which the body of the can is formed, showing a way' of making the detaching lip different from that shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a top view of the can of my invention. Flg. 12 shows the detaching key. Fig. 13 represents a portion of themetal sheet from which the covers for so-called Square cans are out, making use for the reinforcing projection out of theportion of the material which has heretofore been waste. Fig. 1 represents a complete Square can, as made by my invention.

Fig. 15 is the same as Fig. 14, but showing a portion of the detachable strip torn away.

Figs. 16 and 17 are Views at different angles Of sections of portions of the Square cans shown in Figs. 14 and 15.

Similar letters refer to similar parts iu all the figures.

In making` the covers for round cans a portion of the sheet metal is rendered useless. In Fis.. 1 is shown a method which I use in making the reinforcing projection, which utilizes for this purpose some of the angular portion a of the sheet metal between the circular portions b b b bcut *outto form the cover. It will be Seen that theprojections o C c o come out of what has hitherto in the process of making these covers, been made scrap. The edge d of the cover is turned down so that the cover will fit inside the can body e as shown in Fig s. 2 and 3. The can, the bottom e' not being yet in place,`.is then put upon the rollers ff, which are Operated by proper machinery, which, however, is not part of my invention and which I do not deem it necessary to further describe. These rollers give the body of the can, including the projection c on the turned down edge d of the cover au oset, and the Sharp angle g Which serves at the same tiihe to form the Weakened line along which the detachable strip will be torn and to assist in holding the cover in place. The projection c is likewise folded and comes "be low the angle g, the portion d of the cover referably elsewhere reaching only to the angle g in the body of the can. The detaching liph` may be formed either at one side of the metal of the can body bya single straight cut, as is shown in Fig. 10, or by a right angled cut in any Other portion of its upper edge, as is shown in Fig. 9, and when` the cover is put in place in the can this detaching lip is brought directly over the reinforcing projection c. The soldering of the cover in place is accomplish'ed in the ordinary way, as is also the putting on of the bottom., The solder follows the edge of the coverand When the can is complete the detaching lip h is left loose and adapted to be inserted in the slot 'i of the key 70,when by turning the key the strip lis torn off along the angle g where the material is Weakened.

Figs. 13, 14, 15,16 and 17 illnstrate the ap plcation of my invention to Square cans and do not need further explanation.

That my invention is susceptible of many modifications is obvious. One modification is shown in Figs. 7 and 8, where the ofiset, In-

`Stead of being an obtuse angle, as shown in "Figs `2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, is a right angl'e, and the angle g, instead of being a right angle, is an acute angle. I do not wish my patent tobe lim`ited,`theret'ore, to the precise construction shown and described herein, but

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by' Letters Patent, i s`- 1". In a key opening can, the combinatlon With a projection upon one of the parts of which the can is made, of adetachinglip upon the other portion of the can,`said (letaohlng li p being placed over said projection, substantially asdescribed. 4

2. In a` sheet metal can, theco nbination with the body e of the cover b,having:the projection c, thelip h forming apart ofi said body e and placed over the 'projection c,`and means for removing the strip` lsubstantially as described. \l q 3. In a sheet metal `can, the combination with a cover having a projection fa can body having a detachin li pover said projection, a strip of metal to which said detachinglip is attached Weakened along one side by a Sharp bond in the metl, whereby said strip may be torn away and the can opened, snbstantlally as described.

4. In a sheet metal can, ,the combination with a can body c, of the cover bprovided with the projection c, an oflset :in said can body having thebend g in themetahthelip ]t forming a part of said can body e adapted to lie over said projectionc and adapted-` to be seized by the opening. key, and thestrip l adapted tobe torn away from the rest of said can; whereby the can is opened, substantiallyas described) 4 y In witness whereof I hereunto Subscribe Iny name this 27 th day of December, D. 1892.

EDW. BARRATH.

VVitnesses: y

CHARLES A. BROWN, GEORGE L. CRAGG. 

